Transferability of Telco skills to Renewables

Closing Australia’s Infrastructure Delivery Gap: Why Telco Project Management Capabilities Hold the Key to Renewables Success

The Challenge Ahead

Australia faces an unprecedented infrastructure challenge. Over the next five years, more than $200 billion in major infrastructure projects is planned nationally, spanning transport, energy, water, and telecommunications. The renewable energy transition, in particular, requires rapid deployment at a scale never before attempted – from renewable energy zones to transmission lines, battery storage, and offshore wind.

Yet, the most pressing bottleneck isn’t funding or technology. It’s delivery capability. With such a large portfolio of projects underway, the industry risks falling short due to a shortage of experienced project management talent capable of delivering complex, multi-stakeholder, high-risk programs at scale.

This is where Amalgamotion sees a clear opportunity.

The Overlooked Solution: Telecommunications Project Delivery, Management and Governance Expertise

For decades, Australia’s telecommunications sector has quietly mastered the art of successful large-scale infrastructure delivery. From the ongoing nationwide 3G, 4G & 5G rollouts to the National Broadband Network (NBN) and Public Safety Network (PSN) rollouts, telco professionals have developed:

• Program and Portfolio Governance – Proven frameworks for managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios with interdependent projects.
• Risk and Issue Management – Mature processes for hazard identification, contingency planning, and rapid issue resolution in complex field environments – tested in the real world.
• Supply Chain Management – Experience in coordinating global supply chains for high-value, technical assets, often in time-critical windows.
• Stakeholder and Community Engagement – Established strategies for managing community expectations and delivering benefits to local and regional stakeholders. Experienced in working with governments, regulators, landowners, and communities
• Construction and Field Operations Management – Strong skills in managing contractors, ensuring safety compliance, and delivering in challenging terrains and climates.
• Insightful, intelligent and transparent reporting

These are precisely the capabilities the renewables sector now requires.

Shared Characteristics Between Telco and Renewables Projects

Both industries share a set of challenges:

• Geographic Dispersion – Both sectors manage assets across vast and often remote locations, requiring detailed logistics planning and coordination.
• Multi-Stakeholder Environments – Engagement with federal, state, and local governments, regulatory agencies, landowners, traditional custodians, and community groups is a common requirement.
• Regulatory and Compliance Complexity – Telecommunications teams have experience navigating compliance frameworks, safety standards, and environmental approvals—skills essential in renewables.
• Technology Integration – Just as telecommunications projects integrate diverse systems (network, radio, fibre), renewable projects integrate generation, storage, and grid connection technologies.

Because of these shared attributes, the transferability of telco expertise is immediate and highly valuable.

Strategic Advantages for Renewables

By mobilising experienced telco project managers into renewable programs, Australia can:

• Accelerate delivery – fast-tracking deployment using established rollout methodologies
• Improve quality and reliability – applying rigorous operational readiness and acceptance frameworks developed for national telco rollouts
• Optimise Resource Use – Deploy efficient resource allocation methods developed for national telecom rollouts.
• Strengthen Resilience – Incorporate robust incident response and disaster recovery planning into renewable infrastructure.

Amalgamotion’s Perspective

At Amalgamotion, we believe solving the infrastructure capability gap requires thinking differently about talent. Rather than relying solely on traditional energy sector expertise, the renewables industry should tap into the deep pool of telco professionals with decades of complex delivery experience.

We have analysed this transferability in depth and developed a framework for redeploying telco project management capabilities into renewables. The result is a ready-made, highly skilled delivery workforce that can:

• Scale immediately
• Reduce program risk
• Ensure delivery certainty in a constrained market

Conclusion

Australia’s renewables transition cannot succeed without addressing the capability gap in infrastructure delivery. The skills exist — they just need to be redeployed.

Telecommunications professionals have proven themselves in the toughest delivery environments. Now is the time to harness that expertise to build the future of Australia’s renewable energy system.

 Telco to Renewables summary